It started back 2007, on my first trip to Japan, when I visited Grand Seiko on assignment to learn about the general GS philosophy of watchmaking and Spring Drive, in particular. I was just a couple of years into covering watches, and the immense cultural opportunity handed to me by this experience early in my career is something that I will never forget, and helped put me on the path to the person I’ve become.

But while I found the technology, the techniques, and the dedication required of the Japanese approach to crafting high-quality watches fascinating, I was in a far different place in terms of my finances and my tastes. I wanted bigger, louder watches then, like the 45mm Giuliano Mazzuoli Manometro that I can’t really manage to wear any longer but that I still love to look at once in a while. Owning a new Grand Seiko just wasn’t in the cards for me then. But that’s where the seed for my SBGM221 was planted; this much I can say confidently.

The SBGM221 is no Spring Drive, of course, but it’s about as core Grand Seiko as it gets. The GMT is the central complication within Grand Seiko, in my opinion. Other than a simple date, it’s the one complication that can be found across Grand Seiko’s many movement types. From high-quality quartz to both standard and Hi-Beat automatics to Spring Drive, the GMT is there. From the oversized and sporty to the sub-40mm and dress, it’s easy to find. And all of them are true fliers, as my friend James Stacey would say, meaning that they feature a jumping local hour linked to the date wheel. When I board a flight, I go ahead and jump the local hour to the time of my destination and freely dream about where I’m going, a metaphysical ritual that brings me closer, if only in my imagination, to where I’m headed.

Ideally, I would have had the foresight and the means to buy a Grand Seiko while on my first trip to Japan. Yes, as a souvenir of my stay, but also for the simple reason that in 2007, Grand Seiko watches were not attainable through authorized retail channels in the States. They were faraway exotic watches that you seldom saw in the wild back in New York. The occasional glimpse of a Zararsu-polished case or a mirror-polished GMT hand on a friend returning from Asia was all many enthusiasts outside Japan had to go on. The only thing I returned from my trip with was a now-obsolete digital camera – purchased duty free, if memory serves, at the Doi Camera emporium. It would be a few more years until Grand Seiko reconsidered its distribution strategy and started sending watches to the American market. By then, the iPhone in my pocket had replaced the superannuated camera.

After joining HODINKEE in 2017, I had a front-row seat for our expansion into new watch sales, and to my immense excitement, Grand Seiko was among the brands launching in the H Shop. By now, my tastes had evolved, and I knew that I was ready for my first GS. The diamond-polished hands, Zaratsu polished cases, and the insidery nature of the watches demanded my attention, and it didn’t hurt that I was sitting across from one of the greatest experts of the brand in the world, the one and only Jack Forster.

In my first few weeks in the office, Jack was wearing a GMT in the style of the SBGM221, but his was a limited edition that I think was no longer available by that point. I’d noticed an ivory-dialed GMT (the SBGM021) on the wrist of longtime HODINKEE writer Jason Heaton. Jason’s watch has the former Seiko dial branding from the days prior to the company’s 2017 reorganization.

Perusing the list of watches that HODINKEE was carrying, I alighted on this watch’s successor, the SBGM221, purchased it, and matched it with a blue calfskin strap from the HODINKEE Shop. I eventually switched it to a light grey leather strap, also from the Shop, and then a beads of rice bracelet from Forstner, on which the watch remains to this day. This later maneuver opened up my Grand Seiko’s versatility in an unexpected way, transforming what I’d considered a dressy watch for fall and winter – dressy by GMT standards – into a prime spring-summer watch, sportier yet still dignified.

The watch is so dignified, in fact, I wore it to my wedding. Wearing the SBGM221 (still on its blue strap) that day sealed its place in my heart, cementing it as one of the few watches I won’t ever sell. I’d toyed with the idea of wearing another watch, but in the end I just knew it was the Grand Seiko I wanted to transform into an heirloom.

I believe that our watches can teach us things about ourselves, and perhaps because they measure time, they assume the role of signposts in our past. My 39.5mm Grand Seiko reminds me of the fluidity of my taste, how much I’ve changed as a watch collector. I can’t imagine a world without a vintage-inspired Japanese dress GMT.